I've been checking out the huge selection of green teas at the holymtn.com website. Theres lots to choose from and prices are pretty reasonable. Only problem I don't know much about them. Any experts out there who have ordered from them before and know wether its good quality for money. What teas would you recommend from them?? Any info is appreciated.

Haven't ordered from them in quite some time, but aside from a somewhat cumbersome ordering procedure (probably improved in the meantime) I gave them very good marks for variety, service, and price. My tasting notes give their better grade Dragonwell and their Lu'An Melon Seed particularly high ratings; I was not quite as impressed with a couple of blacks I tried. But again, all that was some years back. Their website is definitely fun to prowl around on.

My shipment arrived on Monday, it took about 5 business days so it was pretty quick Communication was good, they emailed me to let me know it had left the building which was appreciated. I got 1 oz or 1/2 oz samples of several teas, most of which I've never tried. Amongst them are the Bi luo chun (competition grade and regular), Tai Ping Hou Kui, Organic Lu'An Melon Seed, Lu Shan Yun Wu, Huangshan Mao Feng and last but certainly not least, 1st Grade Gyokuru Asahi.

I'm going to try them one by one so I don't have much feedback yet. So far though, I have tried the Mao Feng and I'm really enjoying it. I can't speak of the quality compared to other Mao Fengs but I can tell you it has a great flavour and lasts surprisingly long (5+ brews in 120ml gaiwan). The leaves have a deep green colour and give off a powerful fresh scent. The flavour is very floral, slightly nutty and sweet. I'm definitely going to enjoy the next several weeks as I try them all!

I recently cracked open my next sample from Holy Mtn, the Lu'an Melon seed. It was pretty good, but didn't blow me away with complexity or depth. It was quite similar to mid-priced Dragon's well that I've had from a local shop, with that same kind of chestnut flavour. It was very refreshing and for about $5 for an oz a reasonable price. I brewed it in a gaiwan and got 3 nice infusions out of it before it weakened considerably. What else can I say about this tea... It left a beautiful honey/raspberry scent in the bottom of the cups and faircup, stronger than I'd had before. Overall not a bad choice, but not top shelf either.

Cha Nacho wrote:I recently cracked open my next sample from Holy Mtn, the Lu'an Melon seed. It was pretty good, but didn't blow me away with complexity or depth. It was quite similar to mid-priced Dragon's well that I've had from a local shop, with that same kind of chestnut flavour. It was very refreshing and for about $5 for an oz a reasonable price. I brewed it in a gaiwan and got 3 nice infusions out of it before it weakened considerably. What else can I say about this tea... It left a beautiful honey/raspberry scent in the bottom of the cups and faircup, stronger than I'd had before. Overall not a bad choice, but not top shelf either.

Try more leaf, it is a fluffy tea that requires a large volume of leaf to shine.

I have a few more updates for this thread as I have been working on my samples. (All teas were brewed in a thin walled gaiwan, for about 25 seconds rounds, using 5g of tea, and various water temperatures)

The Tai Ping Hou Kui was good, it was my first time with this tea and from all the descriptions and pictures, I think it was the real deal. It had very long leaves, many with the criss crossed pressing pattern on it. It had a nice subtle flavour. Smokey, sweet, chestnutty. Reasonably long lasting flavour.

The "competition" Bi Luo Chun was next up. Also another tea I had never tried, and I was actually blown away by it! It had a great complex flavour which started off buttery and vegetal, and became sweeter and floral in subsequent brews. Its hard to really describe it, but I would recommend it and would definitely order it again.

I also finished off the regular Bi luo chun, which was nice too. The difference was quite obvious between the two though. After brewing it, it was clear that the leaves were less young and delicate than the competition stuff. Still it made a good brew and was not bad for brewing in large mugs western style.

I just moved on to the sample of Lu Shan Yun Wu. I didn`t really know what to expect but was really happy with this tea. The flavour was different than I expected and brewed for 30 seconds with 5 grams it was woody, and nutty, almost astringent but luckily not. It was kind of hard to classify and I would put the flavour somewhere between the really pronounced floral Mao Feng and a lighter more vegetal green, maybe Melonseed.

Anyway I`ve still got the gyokuru to try as well, and I`m looking forward to it. No idea what to expect compared to the Chinese greens. To anyone interested in trying more loose leaf green tea, I definitely recommend trying a bunch of samples, its very enjoyable and not to hard on the wallet! Happy drinking